Centre evasive on delay in appointments to National Commission for Minorities

Over a month after the Delhi High Court sought the Centre’s response on delayed appointments in the National Commission for Minorities, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, remained non-committal.

All posts of Members and the Chairperson in the NCM have been vacant since April this year.

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Rajya Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu I.S. Inbadurai and Telangana Rajya Sabha MP K.R. Suresh Reddy asked the Minister whether the government had taken note of the court’s observations regarding the long-pending vacancies in the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) and sought the present status of the appointment of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Members. They also asked whether any process had been initiated to fill these vacancies and if interim arrangements were in place to ensure that the functioning of the NCM was not adversely affected.

Mr. Rijiju, in his written reply, said that under the NCM Act, 1992, the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Members of the Commission are to be nominated by the Central government from among persons of eminence, ability and integrity.

“Further, as per Section 8(2) of the NCM Act, 1992, the Commission shall regulate its own procedure,” he said.

The Minister added that grievances received by the Commission continue to be taken up with the concerned authorities for redress.

“The Government endeavours to appoint Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and all the Members of the Commission,” he said, without providing any tentative timeline for the appointments, as sought by the MPs.

On October 15, the Delhi High Court sought a response from the Union government on the long-pending vacancies in the NCM. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, while hearing a PIL filed by Mujahid Nafees, who claimed to be the convenor of the Minority Coordination Committee working on minority welfare across India, observed that the Commission cannot remain headless for so long. The Bench granted time to the Central government’s counsel to obtain instructions in the matter. The court said that the PIL raised an important issue and asked the government not to wait for the next date of hearing and to ensure that the process begins.